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Friday, 26 February 2010

Earlier this month Mark Millar stated that the Wanted 2 script was almost complete and shooting would soon begin. But Universal has now decided to scrap the sequel because Angelina Jolie has signed on to Gravity:

Apparently the studio was expecting for Angelina Jolie to return for "Wanted 2," but the actress has instead joined the cast of "Gravity," a space thriller to be directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men). Instead of recasting Jolie's character, Universal decided to just abandon the sequel. [WorstPreviews.com]

The last six months have been especially busy for Douglas Henshall, with film after TV drama after film. The Silence, How I Was Stolen By The Germans and Eagle Of The Ninth are a few of his recent projects still due for release. I manage to catch up with him just before he heads out to Los Angeles to explore opportunities on the other side of the Atlantic.

What will you be doing in Los Angeles?

I’m just going over there to do some meetings with agents at the tail end of pilot season. And to get a little bit a sun to be honest. I’ve been in Dublin filming.

...Another part you did recently was a Briton in The Eagle Of The Ninth, and you said it was a really fun part to play.

Yeah, it was great fun for me to play. I didn’t have much to do. I think was in about the first 15 minutes of the film. But I had a whale of a time riding chariots! I mean its just the greatest fun. It really is. It’s like a go-kart for an adult. Its this cut-out wicker basket with like, two wheels, with no suspension obviously, because they didn’t have any suspension then, and all you’ve got is two strips of leather attached to two stallions. And you’ve got to try and control with that! These are horses with a proper opinion about whether they want to go left or right. But, oh man, I had such a good time.

...So you’re looking to do things in America now?

Well I’ve always been looking to do things in America, America’s never asked me to do anything. It’s not that I never wanted to. Its just the way that my careers gone, but I think if you want to work in America you have to make the effort and go and thats why the last couple of years I’ve started to go.

How long will you going out there for this time?

Just a couple of weeks. I’m meeting with some agents and managers just for some pilot TV shows and we’ll see what happens. I’m just going to start going out there a little more often. At this time of year in Los Angeles there’s this kind of casting frenzy, there’s all these pilots to be made. A very small percentage of those get picked up by the TV stations. You get a lot of British actors go out there, you know, swallows in spring. [Douglas Henshall.com via Dougie Fans]

Character stills and on set stills from How to Train Your DragonPhotos courtesy of Totally Hollywood Hunks News photo galleryThe Bounty Hunter and How to Train Your Dragon premiere datesGerardButler.net shares the US and UK premiere dates for The Bounty Hunter and How to Train Your Dragon:

March 11UK The Bounty Hunter PremiereVue West End Cinema Leicester Square – London

John also revealed there he will appear in at least one more episode of Desperate Housewives:

Speaking on BBC's "The One Show," Barrowman revealed that his character will be introduced an episode earlier than originally planned and confirmed that his character is nothing short of evil.

"I leave in about a week and a half to do 'Desperate Housewives,'" he said. "I just found out today that I was supposed to be doing 5 episodes, it has increased now to 6. So I'm really, really chuffed about that. They've decided to put my character in sooner than we thought. He's a villain, he's a bad guy and he's going to affect all the women in Wisteria Lane."

...According to executive producer Bob Daily, Barrowman will be playing the much alluded to, Patrick. When he arrives in town, Patrick will be getting very involved in the lives of all the central figures on the series and will serve as an insight into Angie's mysterious back-story. [InsideBlip]

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

David Tennant is reportedly attached to Magnet Films’ psychological thriller Retreat, along with actors Thandie Newton and Jason Isaacs. The film will be is co-written and will be directed by Carl Tibbets and "follows a couple (played by Newton and Isaacs) who are seeking to rebuild their relationship by taking time out on a remote island but their peace is shattered when they find a man in military uniform (Tennant) half-dead on their doorstep who tells them there is a lethal virus killing millions on the mainland." Shooting is set to start in May in Canada.

Monday, 22 February 2010

I Love You Phillip Morris had originally been scheduled to open March 26, but now Consolidated Picture Group has rescheduled its limited American release to April 30. The film will then be expanded in the first two weeks of May:

Written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa ("Bad Santa"), "Phillip" tells the story of a married conman (Jim Carrey) who falls in love with his cellmate, played by Ewan McGregor. Pic co-stars Leslie Mann.

"Phillip" will face off with Warner Bros.' wide release of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" remake, as well as Summit's Brendan Fraser-comedy "Furry Vengeance" about a real estate developer who battles local forest animals after a proposed housing development threatens their home. [Variety via Best of Ewan]

The project, announced late last summer, is "a fictional account of Edgar Allan Poe's final five days as the joins a hunt for a serial killer inspired by his stories." McTeigue told /Film, "It's like the poem, 'The Raven', itself, crossed with 'Se7en'. It should be pretty cool. The script is really good and everyone responds to it really well. I'm in the middle of casting." We're guessing that McGregor is being eyed for the role of Poe, with Renner playing a sidekick of some kind. [The Playlist]

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

James did an interview with The Scotsman to promote The Last Station which opens on Friday, February 19 in the UK. An excerpt (via JMMB) is below:

...McAvoy is not the sort of actor you'll find regularly beaming from the pages of Hello!. Neither is he the sort person prone to pouring his heart out in an interview. Which is aptly demonstrated when I ask how he feels about impending fatherhood.

Excited, nervous? "Yeah, the usual emotions, I suppose," he says, his soft Glasgow accent striking a note of caution. "The usual healthy emotions. Excited and all that." Then again, as a 30-year-old male, he probably doesn't really know what to think about the prospect of changing nappies and sleepless nights.

...On the day we meet, the Oscar nominations have just been announced. McAvoy's veteran co-stars Christopher Plummer, who plays Tolstoy, and Helen Mirren, who stars as his unhinged and unhappy wife Sofya, are both up for awards.

"We're dead, dead chuffed," he says, presumably referring to himself and Duff, who plays Tolstoy's daughter Sasha in the film. "We will totally be crowded round the telly, cheering them on."

He's also pleased for the film, which has been written and directed by Michael Hoffman. "It needs it. It's a small film – and there are loads of small films out there, doing well.

...Rarely given the chance to use his own accent on screen, most people are surprised to discover he's Scottish. "Even now, in America, people will go, 'Hey, I didn't know you were Irish.' You go, 'I'm not.' They go, 'What? Where are you from? Australia?' What?"

While he may have won the Bafta Rising Star award, he still gets mistaken for other actors. "People hear your accent and go, 'Are you Ewan McGregor?'" he says, with mock horror on his face. "I look nothing like him." He gets stopped in the street "hardly at all". And when people do recognise him, it's usually followed by, "You're the guy from Wanted." [James Mottram]

"A bounty hunter (Gerard Butler) learns that his next target is his ex-wife, a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure."

Tuesday, 16 February 2010

I had been meaning to post a Percy Jackson/Kevin McKidd news post, so I'm sorry that this is a few days late.

Percy Jackson box office

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief opened in second place at the North American box office. The film has grossed nearly $40 million over the four-day weekend. International grosses haven't yet been announced.

Kevin McKidd reunites with Ewan McGregor

As previously posted Kevin is set to star in a film about Mount Everest with his Trainspotting co-star Ewan McGregor. Both actors are expected to shoot on location in Nepal. Thanks again to Magdaléna for pointing us to this on our Facebook page.

According to The Celebrity Cafe, Dougray Scott is listed as one of the stars set to appear in The Magnificent Eleven, an adaption of the 1960s classic The Magnificent Seven. The film will be directed by Irvine Welsh:

According to Sreendaily.com, 'The Magnificent Eleven,' called so because there are 11 members on a soccer team, is loosely based on the original, (which was also loosely based on Akira Kurosawa's 'The Seven Samuri'). The story is told as if a local amateur soccer team are the cowboys and the Indians are the owners and operators of a local Tandoori restaurant. The bandits are a group of thugs and criminals lead by a psychotic named Blonde Bob. [The Celebrity Cafe]

James arrived at the airport in Vancouver, Canada yesterday. He's in Vancouver to shoot his new film formerly titled I’m With Cancer. Shooting should probably start sometime around February 20. You can head on over to Just Jared for more photos of his arrival.

Monday, 15 February 2010

Ewan was at the Berlin International Film Festival on Friday, February 12 to promote The Ghost Writer. Some photos of the event are below.

Ewan at the photocall for The Ghost Writer on February 12.

Ewan's red carpet arrival at the world premiere.

Out Magazine interview

Ewan McGregor is on the March 2010 cover of Out Magazine. Scans of the photoshoot and interview via ONTD! and Ewan_playground.

Ewan McGregor and Kevin McKidd reunite

Thanks so much to Magdaléna for pointing us to this casting news on our Facebook page. Ewan and Kevin will reunite for the first time since 1996's Trainspotting in a new film about Mount Everest. Both actors are set to travel to shoot on location in Nepal. The film doesn't have a title yet and details are being kept under wraps for now.

John won the What's On Stage Award for Best Takeover in a Role for his performance in La Cage aux Folles. John couldn't go to last night's award ceremony, but you can watch his video message over at What's On Stage website.

David Tennant is nominated in the Best Actor category for his role in Hamlet in the BBC 2 film version and for his role in Doctor Who. Other nominations in the Best Actor category inglude Douglas Henshall for Collision on ITV1 and Peter Capaldi for The Thick of It on BBC2.

Ewan McGregor plays a ghostwriter who is hired to write the biography of a former British Prime Minister. As he works he "uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy." The Ghost Writer is set to premiere tomorrow at the Berlin Film Festival and the new exclusive TV spot comes courtesy of JoBlo.

Gerard Butler plays Stoick in How to Train Your Dragon. It's an animated film about a "young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons" and "becomes the unlikely owner of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed." How to Train Your Dragon opens on March 26 in the US. "Changes", the film's first TV spot from Trailer Addict is below.

Triage, if you'll remember, stars Scottish actor Jamie Sives and is about "The wife of a photojournalist" setting "out to discover why he came home from a recent assignment without his colleague." Thanks to TRIAGEmovie for pointing out the UK screening of Triage:

Following its first stop in Toronto as part of TIFF Cinematheque in February, the 14th Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, featuring 28 films from 20 countries, will continue on its tour making London the next stop, where Danis Tanovic’s TRIAGE will enjoy its UK premiere screening.

The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival in London runs March 17-26, with TRIAGE screening 8:30 PM March 20th 2010 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

As a reminder, the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival in Toronto runs February 24 – March 6, 2010. To book your tickets for the Toronto screening of TRIAGE, 7:00 PM February 25th, CLICK HERE.

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Craig is officially now on Twitter. He got over 30,000 earlier this afternoon and as of right now he's nearly at 40,000 followers. Craig announced joining on the Late Late Show last night which you can check out below:

James has been nominated for a Laurence Olivier theatre award in the best actor category for Three Days of Rain at the Apollo theatre. James is nominated with James Earl Jones, Mark Rylance, Ken Stott, Jude Law, and Samuel West. Winners will be announced in London on March 21.

GREAT SCOT!

Though he’s shared the screen with Angelina Jolie, KeiraKnightley, and Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy is in no rush to be the next big name.

Stephanie Trong found out firsthand while spending a chilly evening in New York City with the Scottish actor. Here, a few of his secrets.

Why you never hear about him in the tabloids: “I’ve only had somebody try and take pictures of me outside my house once in my entire life. And they stopped after about half an hour.”

How his resume is impeccable:“Every now and again, [my agents] thought that I should do something, and I’ve been, ‘What the fuck are you thinking?’ But that’s only happened once or twice in my entire career.”

The co-star that left the biggest impression on him: “I was intimidated by the humongity—this is a good made-up word—the humongity of Keira’s sort of world presence.”

Why it’s only a matter of time until he wins an Oscar: “I was very sensitive. Cried easy. Enjoyed crying from an early age. Ehm, not in public. On my own. I think I recognized its therapeutic qualities early on. And then as I came into my teenage years it became very handy ‘cause I could wallow about my lack of girlfriend or general cool or mystique.” [Nylon Magazine]

You can get a look at the rest of the photos and the entire interview over at ONTD!

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